Press.



P. J. PERKINS.

PRESS.

XAPPLIOATION FILED 1.111,4, 1911.

Patented 0013.27, 1914.

6 SEEBTB-BHBET 1.

Fig, 1.

INVENTOR.

BY I 1 @fw #MM/'11,

A TTORNEY.

I'. J. PERKINS.

PRESS.

APPLIUATION FILED JANA, 1911.

1,1 15,012. Patented 0013.27, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Figa,

UQ' 4 BY ATTORNEY.

T. J. PERKINS.

PRESS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN.4. 1911.

1,1 1 5,01 2. Patented 0015.27, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

F. J. PERKINS.

PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.4,1911.

1,1 15,01 2. Patented 001;. 27, 1914.

6 SHEETS-'SHEET 4.

l-sgA gigfgjsgll) y AVI/ENTO/e.

P. J. PERKINS.

PRESS.

y APPLICATION YILED JANA, 1911. x 1 1 15 012. 1 Patented 001;.27, 1914.6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.-

o o o '5 l l'f." 5 2o 22/ UTMMI. @wam ATTORNEY.

ter, which is initially moved by a piston or unirsi) srA'rEs PATENTOFFCE.

' FRANKLIN J. PERKINS, 0F WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HOLDER'-PERKINS COMPANY, OF WOBUBN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA,-

CHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Appication filed January 4,1911. SerialNo. 600,803.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914i.

To all whom 'it may concern `Be it known that I, FRANKLIN J. PERKINS, acitizen of the United States, residing in Woburn, county of Middlesex,and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Presses, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention relates to pressesI of that class in which'fluid pressureis em loyed to move one of the platens toward t e other,

and is herein shown as embodied in a press in which the lower laten issupported by apiston or ram of su stantially large diameplunger ofsmaller diameter.

The present invention has for its object to provide a simple, efficientand quick-acting press 'of the character described, and one in which thepressure upon the work or material may be maintained at any desiredpoint for any desired length of time irrespective of the position of thefluid-operated platen.

The invention has for 'its object to provide a press ofthe characterdescribed in which the Huid is circulated in a normally open circuitcontrolled by a single starting valve, which is manually operated aswill be described and has provision for balancing the valve when it isdesired t0 open the same, whereby the said valve may be quickly andeasily opened by the operator as' will be described. Provision isalsoinade for automatically connecting the cylinder of larger diameterwith the fluid supply when the pressure in the cylinder of smallerdiameter reaches a predetermined point. Provision is further made forenabling the luid-operated platen to be successively moved into itsoperative position in a minimum time, as will p be described.

will be pointed out in the claims at the end@` with a pipe 14, whichserves as a fluid inlet of this specification.'

Figure l is a front elevation of one form y o'duid o erated pressembodying this in;l ign 2, a side elevation looking toward the left inFig. 1. Fig. 3, a side ele-5 ration looking toward the right in Fig. 1.5Fig. 3, a detail to be referred to. Fig. 4, a detail in section andelevation on an enlar'ed scale showing the main ram, its coperatingvention.

.plunger and the starting valve, to be re- `iferred to. Fig. 5, a detailon an enlarged scale of the automatic valve controlling the connectionof the large cylinder with the fluid sup 1y, and Fig. l6, a diagrammaticView to il ustrate the circuit of the fluid'.

Referring to the drawing, a represents the uppeor laten and b the lowerplaten of a press einV odyii'ig this invention and. especially adaptedamong other uses for pressing leather and like material.

In the press herein shown, the upper platen a is stationary, it beingsuitably attached to a cross head or frame c sustained by side columns,posts or rods d, which are lsuitably attached to a supporting base e.The lower platen is fluid-operated and in the present instance it restsupon a piston or ram f (see Fig. 4) of substantially large diameterlocated in a cylinder g, and has cooperating with it a plunger orauxiliary piston )l of materially smaller diameter, which is located ina cylinder z', which will be hereinafter referred t0 as the smallcylinder. The cylinders g, t are supported by a frame 7', which isremovably secured to the upper surface of the base e.

The lower laten I) preferably has provision for tilting on tlie ram f soas to adjust itself 'to work of uneven thickness, and as showirin Fig.4,the platen 6 is provided on its under side with a spherical projectionor ball 10, which fits into a curved socket 12 in the upper surface ofthe ram The smaller piston la, is employed to initially' and afluidfoutlet for the said cylinder, said pipe being connected with anormally open Huid' circulating system, which com' rises in the presentinstance, as' shown in ig. 6, a pump 15 of any` suitable construction, avvsource of fluid supply, such as a tank or reservoir 16, a valve casing17 connected r'vith-the pump 15 by a pipe 18, and with r and which isshown in Fig. 4

Apendently of will be described. rlhe valve stem 34 abovel the pipe 14by a pipe 19 and a second valve casing 20, which is connected by a pipe21 with the inlet pipe 14 for'the small cylinder, and with the supplytank 16 by a pipe 22, and with the inlet pipe 23 for the large cylinderby a pipe 24'containing a-check valve 25 of known construction. The pipe23 is also connected with the supply tank 16 by a pipe 26 containing acheck valve 63 oi known construction, and vthe pipe 26 is connected bythe pipe 28 with the valve casing 17 :tor a purpose as will bedescribed.

'llhe valve casing 2O contains a valve, which may be designated thestarting valve, as a hollow cylinder 30 having the fixed bottom 31,which forms the valve proper, and a removable head 32 provided withports 33 extended through it, and having a valve stem 34, which isextended loosely through the head 32 so as to be capable oi? movementindethe valve, for a purpose as and below the head 32 hasx fast on itnutsv 35, 36, which are designed to be brought intov engagement with theheadv 32 and eect movement of the valve cylinder 30 in oppositedirections. 'llhe valve stem 34 at4 its@ lower end coperates with a port37 extended through the valve 31 so as to close and openl said port and'forms an auxiliary valve, for;

a purpose as will be ldescribed. 'llie valve:v stem 34 is operativelyconnected to a start-'g ing mechanism, herein shown as a lever 38l on arock shaft 39 located at the iront the machine, (see Fig. 1) andsupported in bearings 40 adixed to tli said rock-shaft having a crank41, which is connected by a link 42 (see Fig. 3) to one arm 43 of anelbow lever,

bracket or guide arm 51 attached to the frame of the machine. Asrepresented in Figs. 1 and 3, the operating lever 38 and the partsconnected with it, are inthe position they occupy when the startingvalve is When the starting valve' is in its open positiony shown in Fig.4, the circulating system is open and the fluid .merely circulatestherein, Aand at such time, the lower platen b is in its lowered or openosition, and the pistons y, it are in their owered. osition shown inFig. 4. The course oi t ofa e cross head c,

to the otherv arm 44 oi which the valve stem 34 is con-` e Fluid lLimpia.

under these conditions maybe traced in Fig. 6 as follows: from thesupply tank 16 by pipe 52 to pump v15,thence by pipe 18 to valve casing17, thence by pipes 19, 21, to valve vcasing k20, thence by pipel 22back to the supply tank 16. 'llhe fluid also fills the inlet pipe 14 forthe lower cylinder, but does not move its plunger 71 and it also illsthe pipe 24back to the check valve 25, which 1s arranged to open in thedirection of the arrow 55.l y Whenthe operating lever 38 is loweredor.moved in the direction of ther arrow 60 in Fig. 3, the valve rod 34 isfirst moved to close the port 37 and at such time the nut 35 is broughtinto engagement with the head 32 and the nut 36 is lowered there-`from.. 0n the continued downward movement of the valve stem 34, thevalve 31 is moved with it and is seated to close the exhaust port 61with which the pipe 22 communicates. lThe closing of the valve 31interrupts the circulation of the fluid and causes the same to flow intothe small cylinder t and raise the piston or plunger h therein. Theplunger h on its upward movement, lifts the ram or large piston f andmoves the lower platen toward the upper platen; rlhe ram on its upwardmovement acts as the piston of a suction pump for a predeterminedportion of its stroke and draws duid from the tank 16 through the pipes26, 23, into the large cylinder, the check valve 63 in the pipe 26opening in the direction of the arrow 64, Fig. 6, and the check valve 25being held closed by the pressure of the Huid in the pipe 24, which isconnected with. the pipe 21 through'ports 65 in the cylinder 30 oi the.starting valve 31 (see Fig. 4). 'llhe lower platen b continues to'beraised by the fluid pressure on its piston k, and the large piston orram f continues to act as a suction pump, until the Huid pressure actingon the small piston h reaches a predetermined point, whereupon saidpressure acts on the valve within the casing 17 and automatically openssaid valve and connects the large cylinder g with the pressure system,namely, with the pump, whereupon the latter pumps the fluid into thelarge cylinder and applies the Huid pressure to the large piston or ramf and thereby subjects the work to the desired or required pressure.

lin Fig. 5, l have shown one construction of automatic valve mechanism,which l may prefer, and which consists -of the valve 70 located in achamber 71 within the casing 17 and coperating with a port or opening 72in a partition wall 73, which forms a chamber '74 above it. The lowerchamber 71 has connected toit the pipes 18, 197 and the upper chamber 74has the pipe 28 connected to it. The valvel70 isprovided with anenlarged lower por ion 75, which practically.

forms a piston ot larger area than the valve,

iis

so that when the pressure in the chamber 71 reaches a predeterminedoint, it will act on said piston and force tile same and its attachedvalve downward and thereby open the valve and connect the chamber 71with the chamber 74, which allows the fluid under pressure to be forcedthrough the ipes 28, 26, 23 into the large cylinder g, w erein it ,actsdirectly on the large piston f therein.

The pressure at which the valve is opened is determined by the tensionor strength of a helical spring 80 (see Fig. 2), which encircles thestem 81 of the valve 7 0 below the casing 17 and is supported at itslower end bv a bracket'or arm 83 attached to the base e and bears at itsupper end against a nut 84 on the valve stem. The valve stem 81 may alsobe provided below the bracket or arm 83 with a nut 85, which acts as asto to prevent injury to the valve 70 when tlie latter is seated by thespring 80. By means of the nut 84, the tension or strength of the spring80 can be adjusted according to the pres sure at which it 4is desiredthe valve 70 should be opened. When the fluid pressure is admitted tothe large cylinder g, 1t closes the check valve 63 and cuts off thecylinder g from the supply tank 16. The pump then forces the fluid underpressure into both cylinders, and the lowerl platen Z) forces thematerial or work against the upper platen and subjects the work to thedesired pressure, which is made known to the operator by the age 87connected by the pipe 88 with the arge cylinder g.

When the pressure. in the main or large cylinder g reaches the maximumamount to which the press is adjusted, which is determined by anysuitable relief valve 100 in the pipe 18, the work may be immediately'relieved from said maximum pressure, or it may be allowed to remainunder said pressure for any desired length of time. When 1t is desiredto immediately relieve the work from the desired pressure, the startingvalve is opened wide and to enable the operator to manually open thestarting valve from its closed position, in which it omay be held to itsseat by a fluid pressure of many tons, as for instance 70 tons, thevalve stem 34 is made movable independently of the valve as abovedescribed, so that, when the operator turns the operating lever 38upwardly.

the valve stem 34 will be lifted so as to uncover the port 37 in thevalve and allow the fluid pressure to flow into the exhaust pipe1 22 andthereby balance or substantially bal- 1 ance the startingwalve, whichcan then be easily liftedl from its seat, to connect the cylinders g,z', with the exhaust pipe 22,'wh1ch allows the pistons f, h, to descendby gravity. As the piston f descends, the fluid flows through the pipe23, check -valve 25 and pipe 24, to' the valve casing 20 and thence tothe exhaust pipe 22, and the fluid` in the small cylinder i flowsthrough the pipes 14, 21, to the valve casingy 20 and thence to theexhaust pipe 22.

In many instances, 1t may be desired to keep the work under a givenpressure less than the maximum for a substantially long time, and thisresult may be accomplished with the press herein shown, b. opening theauxiliary valve 34 of the startlng valve less than its full distance andwithout unseatng the main valve 30, so as to effect a balance betweenthe quantity or amount of fluid supplied to the cylinders and thequantity or amount of fluid which flows through the port 37 in the mainvalve 30. l To illustrate, let it be supposed that it is desired tosubject a pile of skins to a continuous pressure of say fifty tons for anumber of hours. In this case, the press is started by closing thestarting valve as above described, and when the gage 87 shows that apressure of fifty tons has been obtained in the cylinder a. the operatorraises the lever 38 sons to partially open the auxiliary valve 34,without lifting the valve 30 from its seat, that is, until the valve 34has been opened a'sufiicient amount to discharge through the port 37 inthe main valve 3Q a quantlty'oi` fluid equal to the quantity supplied bythe pump, or in other words effect a balance between the fluid suppliedand the fluid discharged, whereupon the circulation ofthe fluid in thecircuit or system is established and maintained with a ressure of fiftytons on the lower platen. l)`his pressure of fifty tons on the skins/orother material may be maintained indefinitely or as long as thecirculation is maintained, and in case the material or work is in suchcondition that it is gradually compressed, as in the case of moisturebeing present in the material, the lower platen is moved toward theupper platen by a fluid ,pressure of fty tons, and the displacement ofthe piston h in its cylinder is compensated for by the increase involume of the fluid until the moisture has been expressed. The same:principle of effecting a balance between the water supplied to thecirculating system and that discharged therefrom can be used to controlthe up.- Ward travel of the lower platen, so that the latter" can bestopped in any part of its upward travel. This feature is useful in thatthe lower platen can be stopped in its upward travel so as to adjust thework before the pressure is applied, which saves loss of time indropping the platen and raising it again. In this case, the amount ofpressure kept in the cylinder is equal to the weight of the platemonly.

In order to uicken theA action of the press, the pipe 2 connecting theinlet pipe 14 for the small cylinder with the valve j casing 20, is madeof smaller diameter than the inlet pipe 14 to choke vthe flow of fluidoperating therewith,

out of the small cylinder, so that whenthe Vsaid cylinder is connectedwith the exhaust pi e 22 and the circulation again estabis led, a smallvolume of tluid is allowed to escape to the exhaust, and the circulatingsystem trom the inlet pipe 1li back to the pump is not emptied ea'chtime the starting valve is opened, but is maintained filled orsubstantially filled with fluid, and as a result when the starting valveis again closed,

the lluid immediately acts on the piston l1.

and the time which would otherwise be requ1red for the pump to ll thesystem between it and the small cylinder is saved.

This is an important iEeature from a pracoperating with saidtiret-mentioned piston,

a cylinder in' which said starting piston is located, a normally openfluid circulating system including asource of Huid supply, a pump, pipeconnections between said pump and fluid supply to enable the pump totake fluid therefrom and return it thereto, means for connecting thecylinder of the starting iston with said circulating system, a startingvalve controlling the circulation of luid,

a second valve included in said circulating system and automaticallyoperated when the pressure in the starting cylinder reaches apredetermined point to admit fluid pressure into the said main cylinder,means independent of the circulating system for connecting the maincylinder with the source of fluid to draw lluid into the main cylinder,and means to shut od' the main cylinder from said source ot supplywhenllud un.- der pressure is admitted into said main cylinder,substantially as described.

' 2. ln a machine ot the class described, in combination, a movableplaten, a platen coa piston to move said movable platen toward itscoperating laten` a cylinder`in which said piston is ocated, a normallyopen fluid circulating system with which said cylinder communicates,means for circulating; duid through Y' said system without effectingmovement ot saidpiston, a valve casing included in said a valve in saideasing for interruptot fluid in said system pressure to act on saidsystem, ing the circulation and cause theuid i piston, said valve havinga port or opening, a valve rod` or stem for said' valve cooperating withsaid port, and means to operatively connect said valve rod with saidvalve to move the latter andto permit the valve rod to be movedindependently oit l movable platen, 'said piston is located, a startingpiston coanimera the valve to open said port and substantially balancesaid valve, for the ,purpose specified.

3. lin a machine of the class described, in combination, a movableplaten, a platen cooperating therewith, a piston to move said movableplaten toward its coperating laten, a cylinder in which said piston isocated, a normally open fluid circulating system with which saidcylinder communicates, means for circulating fluid in said systemwithout operating the movable platen, a valve casing in said system onthe eX- haust side ot the said cylinder, and a valve in said casing forcontrolling the flow of tluid from the pressure side to the exhaust sideoit said system, said valve comprising a main valve having a'port, andan auxiliary valve coperating with said port, said main valve beingconstructed to remain Seated ilntil positively lifted by the auxiliaryvalve, manually operated means for operating said auxiliary valvewhereby the said piston may be. relievedfrom pressure substantially inan instant or maybe subjected to a selected pressure less than themaximum capacity of the apparatus :for any desired length of time,substantially as described.

t. ln a machine of the class described, in combination, a movableplaten, a platen cooperating therewith, a piston to move said movableplaten, a main cylinder-in which said piston is located, a startingpiston cooperating With said lirst-mentionedpiston,

'a cylinder 1n which said starting piston is located, a normally openfluid circulating system with which said starting cylinder is connected,means for circulating :duid in said system Without eiecting movement ofthe starting piston, a valve casing included in said system on theexhaust side'ot said starting cylinder, a valve in said casing to efluid circulation and cause interrupt th iluid pressure to act on thestarting piston,

substantially as described.

5. ln a machine oit the class described, in combination, a movableplaten, a platen cooperating therewith, a piston to move said a maincylinder in which operating with said irst-mentioned piston,

a cylinder 1n which said starting piston is located, a normally openfluid circulating.-

system with which ysaid starting cylinder is connected, .means forcirculating lluid in said system without eil'ecting movement of thestarting piston, a valve casing included `in said system 'on the exhaustside oflsaid starting cylinder, a valve in said casing to interrupt thefluid circulation and cause fluid pressure to act on the startingpiston, a valve casing included in said system on the inlet side ot saidcylinder, means vfor ,connecting said second casing with the maincylinder, and a valve in said second casing normally 'cutting off themain cylinder from the said casing and automatically opened when thepressure Within its casing reaches a predetermined point, substantiallyas described.

G. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a movableplaten, a platen cooperating therewith, a piston to move said movableplaten, a main cylinder in which said piston is located, a startingpiston cooperating with said tiret-mentioned piston, a cylinder in whichsaid starting piston is located, a normally open fluid circulatingsystem, a pump in said system for circulating fluid therethrough, meansfor connecting said systemwith said starting cylinder,

a manually operated valve in said system for controlling the supply ofpressure to said strating cylinder, a second valve controlling thesupply of iuid pressure from said system to said main cylinder andautomatically opened by fluid pressure when the latter reaches apredetermined point in the starting cylinder. 4

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribmg witnesses.

FRANKLIN J. PERKINS.

Witnesses:

J As. H. CHURCHILL, J. MURPHY.

